


your hungry flirt borders intrusion

by morisco



Category: Formula 1 RPF
Genre: Friends With Benefits, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Quarantine shenanigans catching up, Sort of? - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-27
Updated: 2020-08-27
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:13:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,529
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26143915
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/morisco/pseuds/morisco
Summary: “You want to get in?”Daniel had seen Michael glancing furtively at the heated water. It hadn’t been an uncommon occurrence for them so Daniel reasoned that it was just ordinary. A voice in the back of his head told him nothing was ordinary with them anymore.Michael looked up with uncertainty in his face. Daniel stared at him.“Okay, yeah. I think I need it.” Michael nodded, stripping out of his clothes until he was left only in his boxers. Daniel had watched the entire process shamelessly. It wasn’t like it was his first time.
Relationships: Michael Italiano/Daniel Ricciardo
Comments: 16
Kudos: 83





	your hungry flirt borders intrusion

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys I saw Dan in a hot tub then this happened. This hasn't been proofread because my brain don't work like that. Happy reading!

  
  


Daniel dipped his toes into the water, testing if it had heated up enough for him to go in. He rarely looked like he tested anything in life when the world was watching. Now however, tucked into a corner of Austria in the mountains, he didn’t have to pretend. The water felt good against his skin so he retracted his foot just long enough to pull off his hoodie, the soft blue material falling to the wooden floor followed by his shirt and gym shorts.

The cold air that blew against his mostly naked torso gave him goose skin. He stepped into the water and sat down, letting the water immerse him from the neck down. He could feel the exhaustion from back to back races seeping out of his body. After months on the farm doing every sport and then some to try and replicate the rush he got from racing, Daniel had been itching to get back in the car. In that moment in the hot tub though, all it did was serve to remind him that he wasn’t eighteen anymore, and his body took longer and longer to recover.

Daniel looked out at the sprawling hills covered in lush green growing with patches of rocky mountainous terrain peeking through. The sun was setting behind the shadowy peaks at the horizon, pinks melting into orange and blue that ran darker as his gaze went further up the sky. Daniel could already see the stars in the clear mountain air, so different from the city. He had gotten used to seeing them back at the farm so it felt like a nice added perk up in the Austrian mountains. 

His friends had gone down to the city for the day while Daniel and Michael made the long journey from the racetrack up to the cabin. The only sounds to be heard were the sounds of wind rustling through the leaves and the last of the birds flying home, a stark contrast to the noise in the paddock. 

The water in the hot tub hummed gently under him. Daniel slid further into the water, his eyes closing of their own accord as a deep sigh left him. It vexed him that he had been in this very country every year since he had joined F1 and never once got the chance to truly experience what it had to offer until now. Maybe there was some good in this god awful pandemic after all.

He heard the screen door slide open and close softly. Michael was smiling down at his phone in his hands as he walked towards Daniel and sat down on the edge of the hot tub. 

“What are you smiling at like that?” Daniel asked, his eyes trained on Michael.

“Look,” Michael turned his screen so Daniel could see the screen. It was a video of them on the grid before the race where Michael spoke to Daniel, followed by a little thump in the chest meant to motivate him. “Your fans are eating this up.”

Daniel loved how comfortable Michael had become in the spotlight with the passage of time but he still refused to believe people noticed him. Daniel thought they’d be mad not to. 

He grinned at Michael. “You know they love a bit of lovin’.” 

Michael looked up from the screen, a question in his eyes. 

Daniel continued, “And a little bit of you.”

“Not this again,” Michael groaned, putting his phone away and stirring his hand through the water.

  
  


\----

[March]

_It had been only two weeks, but Daniel had fallen into a comfortable routine together with Michael, being the only two people in the farmhouse. They trained together in the mornings followed by some breakfast Michael whipped up for them. Daniel would usually make them a salad or sandwiches for lunch before they went out for a different activity in the outdoors._

_It felt weird at first, the domesticity of it all, an unprecedented stop to the life he had lived since he became an adult and one nobody had anticipated. Daniel knew it was a pandemic and he only very vaguely understood the scale of everything that was going on around them but all he could focus on was one day to the next, having the time for once in a long long time, to just stay in one place. Remain grounded._

_“I’ve had a spike in my follower count.” Michael had looked surprised at the numbers on his Instagram after the second season of the Netflix documentary had dropped. “I hope they like the workouts I post.”_

_“They're here for that hot body,” Daniel had laughed, punching him in the arm lightly._

_It was late into the evening and Daniel was in his living room sitting comfortably on the grey couch with Michael in the space next to him. They had put on a sitcom but both got distracted within the first few minutes when Michael pulled up his phone and started scrolling down his social media._

_“No, they can see how well I’m working,” He waved his hand in Daniel’s direction. “You’re my advertisement board.”_

_“This beauty? This is Grace and Joe’s advert board. You’re your own best asset.” Daniel patted his bicep before letting his head fall back to where it had been on Michael’s shoulder before._

_“Yeah sure,” Michael said it like he didn’t believe him at all._

_“Oh, c’mon! Don’t act like you haven’t had that kind of attention all your life.” Daniel deadpanned._

_“I haven’t. I mean, okay. I’ve had my fair share of girls but that’s just normal,” Michael looked at him, his eyes free of any pretence._

_“You’re not seriously telling me you never noticed how every man and woman looks at you when you walk into the room?” Daniel lowered the sound of the tv, sitting up and turning so he could face Michael._

_“No, Dan. That’s how everyone just is,” Michael rolled his eyes, snatching the remote back from Daniel and sticking his chin in the air resolutely. “And what do you mean men?”_

_Daniel held his face in his hands, shaking his head. “You’re the universal type, Michael. You’re everyone’s type even when they don’t have a type. And that includes boys. And the gender nonconforming.”_

_“Huh.” Michael genuinely looked surprised and if Daniel didn’t know better, he would think his trainer was acting for the sake of it. “Is that so?”_

_“Michael, I’ve seen guys hit on you in front of me and try to kiss you too. What did you think that was?”_

_“Drunk! It was always at a party or something, so I just thought they were drunk.” Michael laughed, and it made Daniel crack up, falling forward in laughter._

_“So you’ve never kissed a guy?” Daniel asked. Michael knew about Daniel’s sexuality and he had covered for Daniel in enough situations so he was surprised that they had never had this conversation._

_Michael shook his head. “Nope.” Michael looked at Daniel, “I’ve always wondered about it though.”_

_“You should try it. It’s hot,” Daniel winked as he said it. He picked up his wine and took another gulp._

_Michael just laughed and shook his head._

_“Tough luck with lockdown. I don’t even know if we’ll go outside again this year.” Michael stretched up._

_Maybe it was the quarantine getting to him or maybe it was the wine they had been consuming since dinner, but Daniel was feeling bolder than usual._

_“I can be your test subject, I don't care.” Daniel shrugged, doing his best to look casual. His mind was screaming that this was his friend and his trainer and what was he thinking!?_

_Michael’s head whipped around to look at Daniel, his face etched with shock and confusion._

_“You’d do that? I didn’t think I was your type,” Michael angled his body to face Daniel better. He still looked shocked, but there was a glint of curiosity in his eyes. “Don’t deny it, I’ve seen your type.”_

_It was true. Daniel had a type and it wasn’t Michael per se, but. “You’re everyone’s type. I told you.”_

_Michael raised his hands to the sky, shutting his eyes. “I must have had more to drink than I thought if I’m considering this.” Michael shook his head, almost like he was trying to shake the thoughts out._

_“I’m not that repulsive, okay?” Dan said sarcastically._

_“I’m not going to stroke your big ego, but we both know that’s not what I meant.”_

_Daniel’s grin grew wider. He genuinely thought he’d be better at handling his friend expressing bicurious thoughts if he was less tipsy himself._

_“We don’t have to do it.” Daniel looked at Michael, trying to convey his understanding. “Whatever you’re comfortable with.”_

_Daniel pulled his legs up to himself, sinking further into the sofa. He was hyper aware of the space between them now._

_And he didn’t know what Michael meant when he just nodded his head and let his body fall back._

_They watched the sitcom for all of ten minutes, or it could have been an hour, Daniel wasn’t sure. All he had really seen was the way Michael’s throat bobbed when he swallowed back some wine or the way his shirt was riding up and exposing skin, because Michael caught him in the act and it felt like the air between them sparked with the tension in the room._

_“Michael,” Daniel called, leaning on his hand just a little bit, getting closer to Michael._

_“Hmm?” It didn’t help that Michael met him halfway, his face getting closer._

_“I think trying once won’t be so bad,” Daniel didn’t know why, but he was whispering now._

_Their faces were close now. Daniel could see the freckles across Michael’s nose bridge._

_“I think so too.” Michael’s breath fanned his face. Daniel felt a shiver run up his spine, a nervous excitement taking over._

_Michael lightly pressed against his lips, pulling back with hesitation in his face. He must’ve seen the desire in Daniel’s eyes because he came back at Daniel, bolder now._

_His lips were soft against Daniel’s, supple and exploring. It sent tingles all down Daniel’s body._

_Daniel let Michael set the pace, letting his hand settle on Michael’s shoulder for better grip as he moved closer. Heat radiated through Daniel’s body from where Michael’s hand was placed on his jaw, angling for better access and their singular kiss was quickly turning into more. Daniel smiled into the kiss when he felt Michael’s other hand against his thigh, only looking to stabilise himself but unsure. It scared Daniel how willing he was to let Michael have his way, as he put his own hand over Michael's, letting it sit warm and firm against his skin._

_There was a loud bang from the tv and they pulled apart. Michael was flushed in the face and his eyes glazed over. They were both out of breath and Daniel couldn’t help but laugh._

_“So?” Daniel couldn’t help but ask, his hand itching to touch the short hair at Michael’s nape once again._

_“You’re the perfect test subject.” Michael smiled at him, his eyes crinkling at the corners._

_“I’ll take that as a win, then.”_

_Daniel kept his hands to himself for the rest of the night._

_\-----_

Daniel watched as Michael lightly skimmed the surface of the water with his fingers, sending miniscule ripples through the water, so gentle in everything he did. The ripples rolled all the way to where Daniel’s body broke the surface of water, splashing against him. It reminded Daniel of how they had felt against his skin once.

“You want to get in?” 

Daniel had seen Michael glancing furtively at the heated water. It hadn’t been an uncommon occurrence for them so Daniel reasoned that it was just ordinary. A voice in the back of his head told him nothing was ordinary with them anymore.

Michael looked up with uncertainty in his face. Daniel stared at him.

“Okay, yeah. I think I need it.” Michael nodded, stripping out of his clothes until he was left only in his boxers. Daniel had watched the entire process shamelessly. It wasn’t like it was his first time. 

The hot tub had only just enough room to fit two fully grown men. Michael stepped into the water, sitting across from him, his back to the view of the mountains and the sunset. Daniel thought his own view just got infinitely better with Michael’s form cast in a dreamy sunset.

“How are you feeling?” Michael asked like he always did once Daniel had cooled down after the race.

“Okay,” Daniel just nodded. “Car felt better.”

Finishing eighth wasn’t bad when he had DNF’d in the season opener.

“Physically?” 

“Yeah, it’s a little taxing coming back after so long.” he tried to pass it off as nothing.

“Is the shoulder discomfort gone?” Michael asked, deep lines of concern visible between his brows. Daniel had mentioned it immediately after the race and the team physio assigned to him had worked on it at the time. 

Daniel’s heart lurched forward in his chest at Michael’s concern. Things that he never thought much of before this year now took up so much space in his head now. The way Michael fretted over him, and took care of him past whatever trainers had, or even friends. Daniel could only appreciate it properly now.

“Yeah. It wasn’t anything major,” Daniel didn’t know why he was being so short and clipped, but he chalked it up to Michael being topless across from him and causing his brain to short circuit.

Michael nodded. “You’ve been really quiet this weekend. Everything alright up there?” Michael reached across the space that separated them, tapping his temple and lightly sending waves under his skin. 

“I’m not sure,” Daniel said. Michael watched him expectantly, waiting - hoping - for him to elaborate further. So Daniel continued, “I think I miss the farm. And Perth.” _I miss you._ He didn’t add the last part.

“I thought you were happy to come back?”

“I am! I really am glad we get to drive again and everything,” Daniel sighed again, “I guess I just got a little used to the way… things were,” _the way we were_ was what he wanted to say.

“I think I know what you mean.” Michael smiled softly. 

Daniel tried not to lose his head. 

“You do?”

“Yeah. We talked about this. You haven’t experienced staying at home in so long so it’s completely normal that you miss it. But you wouldn’t be able to live without racing as well,” Michael explained, “You’re a part of the circus.” He ended that with a soft shrug of his shoulders.

Daniel stared at him, a shrinking feeling in his gut.

“That’s… yeah. That’s it.” 

“Full time clown.” Michael winked at him.

 _Winked._ The audacity of this man, Daniel couldn’t help but think. Daniel felt like he was going to die if he had to keep going like this.

\----

[April]

_They didn’t bring up the kiss again. It was never said in words but the air had shifted somehow. Innocent touches that were previously only friendly now felt like they carried secret meaning. Daniel felt like they were dancing around each other, and he was thoroughly enjoying the thrill he got from watching Michael struggle to keep up with him sometimes. Conversely, Daniel felt like Michael didn’t have to do anything at all to get him wound up._

_Daniel watched him make smash burgers for dinner one night. And if he thought he’d have liked to be flattened under the weight of Michael’s hands or basted like the brioche buns under his care, Daniel chose not to linger on what a degenerate he had become. He blamed quarantine yet again._

_There was the morning they went swimming in the pool and Daniel just rested in the corner next to the steps, watching Michael do laps around the pool and looking like he belonged in the water. Daniel watched his skin glisten in the water with the sun bearing down on them and he was thankful for his sunglasses as he followed every move Michael made with his eyes._

_Michael stopped next to him after a while, holding onto the edge of the pool as he swept his hair back with his other hand._

_“Are you just going to stand there the entire time?”_

_Daniel looked him up and down, grinning. “Just enjoying the view.”_

_Michael rolled his eyes, hitting the water hard and splashing Daniel._

_“Get some cardio when you’re done being a little shit.”_

_Daniel’s laughter cut the air as Michael dove back under water and swam away._




_When the rumours about the seat at Mclaren started flying around, he didn’t expect them to get in touch as fast as they did. Daniel paced back and forth in his backyard, nervy after the call with his manager. They had gone for a run already that afternoon but he wanted to go again just so he could calm down._

_Michael watched him from the veranda, leaning against one of the wooden posts. When Daniel felt the pacing wasn’t helping anymore he went to stand in front of Michael, looking up at him from the bottom step. They stood there like that for what felt like an eternity. Daniel felt the emotions in his throat grow by the second._

_“What do I do?” he hated the way his voice sounded to his own ears._

_“You already know what you want to do, Dan.” Michael walked down the steps to stand in front of him, closer now._

_“And what if it’s a mistake? What if I spend the rest of my life regretting it?”_

_“You can’t know how both futures will go. But when you left RedBull, Renault was the team for you. Now you’ve got that chance again. To pick what’s good for you.” Michael placed his hand at Daniel’s nape firmly. “Trying to go after your goals head on makes you braver than half the grid will get to feel.”_

_Daniel nodded lightly, letting Michael knead lightly at his shoulder._

_“And if it all goes tits up?”_

_“Then we’ll deal with it. You’ll get through it, and we’ll be here for you.” Michael was now fully holding on to him. “We’re all here for you. You get that right?”_

_Daniel nodded again, this time with more conviction. He stretched up and hugged Michael tightly, soaking up the calm and reassuring energy that Michael seemed to carry. Michael just always understood exactly what he needed and held him close._

_Daniel knew then would be fine. They would be fine._

_When they finally parted, Daniel coughed awkwardly, an uncharacteristically shy smile on his face._

_“C’mon,” Michael slung his arm around Daniel and led him back inside the house. “We’ll watch your favourite scenes of you in Drive to Survive to cheer you up. Deal with this tomorrow when you’ve talked to your family and Blake again.”_

_Daniel laughed. “You just wanna look at yourself.”_

_“It’s called autosexualism, and you’re the reason I know about it.” Michael grinned at him, and Daniel thought it made everything that little bit better._

_“I’ve created a monster.”_

_Laughter rang through the empty house all night, mixed in with the sounds from the tv._




_Daniel rubbed his sweaty palms on his thighs under the table. His body from the waist up was the perfect image of a laid back yet professional racer that he had seemingly mastered as he made conference calls with different executives from the teams. It had been like this for a few days now._

_Michael was sitting at the other end of the table typing away on his computer and taking little breaks to scribble into his notebook. Daniel thought he looked adorable and thinking of the state of his smudged and messy writing made it even more endearing._

_Michael occasionally smiled at him, or talked to him when Daniel was between calls._

_They were both working but Daniel found himself comforted by the man in front of him. There were countless places around the house that Michael could’ve chosen to settle down and work in peace without Daniel’s incessant calls to disturb him but he chose to sit right there despite it all and Daniel convinced himself to not read into it._

_“It’s done.” Daniel said, after he received word from his manager. “We’re moving next year.”_

_Michael looked up at him, a smile turning up the corners of his lips._

_“That was quick.”_

_“Done in principle. They’ll sort out the contract over the coming weeks.” Daniel got out his chair, stretching his entire body and shaking off the stiffness from the office day. His hands were still sweaty and he wiped them on his shirt this time._

_“I’m gonna look so good in the Mclaren uniforms.”_

_“Me too. Orange is my colour.” Daniel smiled._

_Michael was staring up at him in something that looked very close to adoration._

_“It is.” Michael stood up from his own seat, and took Daniel’s hands in his own, a gentle way of stopping him wringing them. He must have noticed Daniel doing it for a while. “Congrats. I know you’ll leave your mark in this team.”_

_“Thanks for staying with me.” Daniel said, and he had no idea why he was getting so emotional._

_“This calls for a celebration, then. C’mon,” Michael gave him a hug and only let go to hold onto one of his hands, pulling him in the direction of the kitchen. “I’ll make you your favourite meal.”_

_Later that night, they walked out to the backyard together after dinner, sated and happy. There were no clouds in sight, the full moon stark against the dark sky that was dotted with stars all around. They fell into a rattan sunbed in the garden and stared up at it in silence, time and space a forgotten concept in that moment._

_“I forgot to appreciate this, you know.” Daniel lifted his chin to the sky, “It’s such a simple thing and yet it feels like… when I look at the sky now, I feel as if it carries every moment I have lived through and every emotion I’ve ever felt with it. Like, some ordinary race I had five years ago was witnessed by this very same sky and committed to it. Even if no one remembers it, the sky holds a memory of it. The sky holds a memory of everything that’s existed in this world.” Daniel finished with a deep breath._

_“Wow.” Was all Michael said._

_“I never understood the fascination when we were younger, but I understand how comforting it can be.”_

_He had spent countless lonely nights in Monaco staring at the starless sky._

_“It’s crazy how I look up at that same sky you see carrying your past and think of the multitude of futures it holds for me,” Michael turned so he could look at him, “and my lucky stars.”_

_Daniel turned so they were both facing each other now. “What are your lucky stars?”_

_Michael just smiled at him, but chose to stay silent. He looked so gorgeous in the light of the full moon, and Daniel felt his heartbeat run faster._

_“Can I kiss you?” The words left him before he had even processed the thought._

_He had feared Michael’s reaction but Michael’s gaze was so soft, his voice even softer when he spoke, like he was waiting for it. For Daniel to ask._

_“You may.”_

_Daniel chuckled, placing his hand on Michael’s jaw before closing the gap between them. Michael’s lips felt so soft and pliant under his own, Daniel felt like it was stealing his heart would._

_“English teacher ass.” Daniel smiled._

_“And yet you’re here on top of me.” Michael nodded down to where Daniel was straddling him, a grin in place._

_Daniel kissed him once more, ending their conversation before he trailed small kisses down Michael’s neck, enjoying the way he felt Michael’s throat vibrate under his lips when he moaned before he trailed back up to his ear and bit at his lobe lightly._

_Michael breathed in audibly, shifting underneath him._

_“I take it you like that?” Daniel was loving this._

_“Mhm. Come here,” Michael sat up suddenly so now Daniel was sitting on his lap, making him yelp._

_He felt Michael smiling into the kiss, and if he could keep this going forever, Daniel really would._

_“Should we take this inside?” Daniel asked between kisses, acutely aware of Michael’s hands gripping at his hips._

_Michael made some noises and Daniel took that as a yes._




_“What are you up to?” Daniel asked, walking into the living room one day._

_Michael was reclining on the sofa, a book in hand._

_“Just some light reading.”_

_Daniel plopped down on the couch, snuggling in to make space for himself under his arm as he turned the tv on but muted it._

_He flipped through it once and when he couldn’t find anything of interest, Daniel turned to Michael._

_“What are you doing?” Daniel asked once more._

_“Reading.” Michael said. Daniel commended his patience for putting up with him sometimes._

_“About what?”_

_“The north star.”_

_“Do you want to tell me about it?” Daniel asked._

_“Do I have a choice?” Michael asked back._

_“Not really.”_

_Michael rolled his eyes, but there was a smile on his lips so Daniel figured it wasn’t too much of a bother. “The north star, or Polaris, which is just the fancier name. It’s been mentioned in almost every ancient culture separately, given a name and meaning of its own. The Norse thought it was the spike that held the sky up, and the Mongols thought it was the hook the world hung off of. And the Hindus called it the immovable.”_

_“Sailors and travellers used it to guide them, and that’s what we read about, but in Africa, it was the desert star. In Africa, that’s where they used it to guide them so that was the name it took for them. And most places you go in the world, you’ll find that star up there guiding you up. Like a constant.”_

_Michael turned to him and gave him the sweetest smile. He wished his brain didn’t make these comparisons, Daniel really did. But now all he could do was compare the north star that guided those lost in the sands and the seas to the way Michael._

_“Can I see it from my rooftop?”_

_Michael shook his head. “From your Monaco, balcony, sure. If there's any stars visible in Monaco by some miracle. But not in Australia.”_

_“That’s not helpful then.” He couldn’t compare Michael to it if it wasn’t with him everywhere. “Okay, you can go back to reading. I’ll just be here minding my business.” Michael shifted his focus back to the book, making Daniel sink further into the couch against him. He could get used to this._




_Daniel was sitting with Michael at the dining table one morning, staring at his laptop screen as Michael picked his website designs and fonts. Daniel kept interjecting and turning his nose up at the slightest shade change as the self labelled artistic one between them._

_“Stop doing that, Dan!” Michael exclaimed as Daniel kept poking his cheek every time he wanted to add his input._

_“Okay. I just think you’re so cute, you know.” Daniel did his best puppy face as he replied._

_“You’re a terrible person.” Michael looked at him with narrowed eyes before pressing a kiss to his lips. “I can’t believe I’m giving someone permission to keep poking my cheek for their entertainment.” he rolled his eyes even as the words left him._

_Daniel laughed and did it one last time before letting them both get back to the task at hand. He admired the effort and work Michael had put into this project over the past year, refusing to let it go public before he was completely satisfied with every aspect of it._

_Michael’s phone rang later that afternoon. Michael looked slightly confused as he received the call and got off the sofa, walking as he spoke into the phone before disappearing towards the kitchen. When he returned to the room, Daniel instantly sensed a shift in his mood._

_“So that was dad. Apparently him and mum have caught the virus.” Daniel watched Michael swallow hard._

_“I’m so sorry, mate. How are they doing?” Daniel stood up from his spot so he could be next to Michael._

_“So they got the test two days ago, and he says they’re feeling fine besides the fever and body aches.”_

_“They’re strong people, Michael. They’ll be okay.” Daniel wanted to hold him so badly but the way Michael had his arms crossed over his chest and looked closed off, he didn’t know if that was what Michael wanted._

_“Yeah. I just wish I could’ve been there to take care of them.” Michael said it, regret colouring his voice. He explained some more of the details of their symptoms._

_Daniel nodded. He understood, but he couldn’t imagine the anxiety he’d experience if Michael was away from him and sick. Daniel tried not to ponder on it._

_“We’ve got some of the best medical care in the world. And your parents lead a healthy life. I’m sure they’ll be okay.” Michael nodded, but he was picking at his nails. “Come here, sit.“ Daniel pulled him to the sofa, and sat him down._

_He left for the kitchen and returned with some mint and lemon tea. He handed it to Michael, before falling into the seat next to him. Michael smiled at him gratefully but it left as soon as it had come._

_The next few days were spent with Michael mostly on the phone with his parents .They had also consulted the specialist private doctors Daniel had gotten in touch with for them. Michael tried to keep his normal routine but he looked distracted. Daniel just tried to make himself useful in whatever way he thought Michael would need._

_Daniel went to check in on Michael one night when they were both supposed to be asleep. He had seen the light on in Michael’s room and couldn’t help but walk up to his door that was slightly ajar. Daniel knocked on the door anyway._

_Michael was sitting on his bed with his head in his hands._

_“Hey, you okay?” Daniel stood in the doorway._

_“Hey,” Michael looked up and waved him in. “Yeah, I’m okay. Just thinking.”_

_“What are you worrying your pretty little head about now?” Daniel sat down next to him on the bed, legs crossed under himself._

_The room was so tidy and clean, everything in its own specific spot. Even the sheets looked like they hadn’t been slept in. The yellow light in the room had been dimmed down._

_“I don’t know,” Michael just smiled, and shrugged. “Life?”_

_He looked so vulnerable and subdued and Daniel wanted to take all his worries away._

_“Want to tell me about it?” Daniel offered, even if he already knew Michael wouldn’t._

_Michael shook his head. “Nah. It’s just a feeling. It’ll pass.”_

_“Okay,” Daniel nodded._

_Daniel picked up his phone and fiddled with it until the speakers in the room came to life with some music. It was an album they both loved and cherished, an old record from the 80’s._

_Daniel got up and held his hand out to Michael. “C’mon.”_

_“You’ve lost the plot.”_

_“Just doing what you do every time we’re in the gym and I’m not feeling it.” Daniel grinned at him._

_Michael pretended to be bothered, but the smile on his face couldn’t be held back too long. They danced next to each other for two songs and they got closer to each other as the time passed. Daniel placed his hands around Michael’s shoulders and was surprised Michael took no time to put his arms up around his back. They just moved from one foot to the other, slow and in tandem with one another._

_Michael’s head dropped to his shoulder soon after and Daniel hoped Michael couldn’t feel his pulse going all sorts of crazy even as the felt the comfortable weight quelled him._

_*_

_Daniel was sitting on Michael’s bed with his back against the headboard. Michael was lying down now, head placed on Daniel’s thigh as he watched the screen. He had switched the tv onto Michael’s favourite comfort film. The soft glow from the tv was the only source of light in the room._

_Daniel was looking down at his face. His lips were soft and red, the slight curve of his nose so delicate. Daniel counted the little freckles on his skin that had become more prominent from being under the Australian sun._

_“Do you want to stay here tonight?” Michael asked and if Daniel hadn’t seen his lips move, he would have missed it. Michael turned his head and the look in his eyes was so earnest._

_“Of course, mate.” There was no hesitation in Daniel’s reply._

_Michael turned to face the tv again, his head getting more comfortable in Daniel’s lap. Daniel ran his fingers through Michael’s hair, blunt nails scraping against his scalp. His hair was thick and shiny, and Daniel loved how it had gotten longer on top._

_When Michael’s parents told them they started feeling better and eventually tested negative, that was the first time he heard Michael breathe easy in weeks. Daniel could’ve cried for him._

  
  


\-----

  
  


“Michael,” Daniel called.

“Hm?” Michael hummed in response, looking up at him

“There’s something besides Perth that I’ve been thinking about,” Daniel said, his heart pounding

“Well, what is it?” Michael asked.

“You know, I thought staying on the farm was what I needed. And what grounded me all those months in quarantine. It wasn’t. It was you,” Daniel felt his voice disappear, before forcing the last of the words that were holding him. “You ground me.”

Michael looked at him, face void of any expression except the slightly turned down corners of his mouth. Daniel saw him picking at his nail under the water, a habit he knew meant Michael was thinking hard. 

“The little time we spent apart in those months of quarantine, I literally walked around the house in your clothes. I felt miserable without you and I still do.” Daniel hung his head, “I still do.”

Time passed between them, and Michael remained silent. A nervous laugh left Daniel.

“Say something please.”

“You can’t do that, Dan,” Michael’s voice was muted but his words firm. “You can’t decide we need to put a stop to things and be professional one month and tell me to get over everything and then just. Just spring this on me.” He looked bewildered now, and his voice was higher than Daniel had heard it go. “Why would you do it now?” 

“Because I miss you.”

“That’s not good enough! I was scared to shit about what we were doing and where it would go but then you decided we were done for the both of us without ever having that conversation. ‘Friend and trainer’,” Michael gesticulated to remind Daniel of his words, red in the face. “And now you’re springing this one me when I had to sit in my room awake for so many nights. Trying to work out how to lock everything away and go back to normal.”

Daniel had never seen Michael this angry, not once since they had started working together. He actually preferred it to the facade of unaffected calm that Michael wore, but the words shook him to the core.

“Well, go on, then. You’ve been bottling up a lot of stuff, haven’t you? If you cared so much why didn’t you say it? Or start that conversation?” Daniel asked.

“What was I supposed to do, Dan? Give up on our friendship for something you didn’t seemingly want? I’ve seen how much you hate clingy people and how many times you’ve complained about them. How could I put you in that same spot?”

“You’re not just ‘people’, Michael.” Daniel wanted to pull his hair out. “I thought you wouldn’t want anything more from it!” 

They were both breathing hard now. Michael ran a hand over his face, sitting up now.

“Dan, I thought I was straight until you came along. Tell me what that says to you about how I feel.” Michael’s voice was softer now, as if he didn’t think he could speak. “But you can’t play with my emotions like that. I’ve been trying so hard to keep it together and you're pulling the rug from under me. So if it’s just to satisfy yourself temporarily, I can’t let you do that.” 

Daniel hated the sadness that had seeped into Michael’s entire body, how he had retracted into himself in the small space in the tub, holding his knees close to his chest.

“Straight as a hairpin.” Daniel muttered under his breath in an attempt to break the tension.

It made Michael crack a smile so Daniel thought it wasn’t too bad.

The sky overhead had turned completely dark. The stars were more prominent now. Daniel tried to make sense of Michael’s words. He also noticed Michael was still picking at his nails as they sat in their little nook in the mountains. 

\----

[May]

_They were working out in their backyard one afternoon when the sun was still standing strong in the sky overhead. They had already gone for a run over the hill that morning and by the end of their session, Daniel felt thoroughly done on their last sets, he fell to his mat on the last plank._

_Michael was still holding himself up next to him, looking at him disapprovingly out of the corner of his eye. Daniel didn’t even think about it as he reached out to squeeze at Michael’s bicep, a grin overtaking his face at the firmness under his hand._

_Michael just sighed as Daniel wriggled his head into the space under Michael’s chin._

_“Hi.” Daniel’s grin just got wider, every line in his face getting involved._

_“Hi, Dan,” Michael lowered himself to place a kiss on his lips, “Lord knows you don’t need the encouragement, but here we are.”_

_“Your face looks weird from this angle. Upside down eyebrows...” Daniel inspected his face some more before lifting off the ground to steal another kiss, on the corner of Michael’s mouth, making him laugh._

_“Can you get out from underneath me before I lose control and end up breaking your neck or something?”_

_Daniel’s face suddenly got serious, folding his arms over his chest and suddenly in deep thought, “Is that possible? Can you imagine the headlines? Australian racer dies of freak accident during COVID outbreak.”_

_Michael shifted from his forearms to his hands, shaking his head in amusement._

_“That would be sad. Battling all those G forces just to lose out to one Michael.”_

_“I can’t die now, when you’re looking like a snack.”_

_That seemed to break Michael’s concentration entirely, making him chuckle as he finally rested back on his knees._

_Daniel’s phone lit up and vibrated next to his own mat. He reached out to grab a hold of it and saw his friend’s name flashing on the screen._

_“Scotty! What’s up?” Daniel held up the camera to his face, as he answered._

_“I’m alright. What about you guys down there? You and Michael shacked up again I see.”_

_Scotty had a smirk on his face and it only got worse because they heard Michael choke on his water behind them, making Daniel turn to look._

_“You alright?” Daniel asked but he could see Michael nodding in reply, already recovering. It was pretty funny and Daniel couldn’t help but laugh too._

_He went back to the call, putting Michael back in shot for the video. Michael just flipped them off and got up to leave. Or so Daniel thought._

_Michael just went to the other side of the camera, and stood over Daniel. Daniel saw the glint of mischief in Michael’s eye as he stepped between his legs. Daniel couldn’t help the smile that overtook his face as he tried to concentrate on his call humming through the majority of it and trying his hardest to keep it together._




_Daniel woke up to an empty bed, - not for the first time - rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. Neither him nor Michael knew when they started sleeping in the same bed. Well, he knew when, but staying the night was a whole different thing._

_And they didn’t know what they were doing at this point but it felt good and it felt warm and Daniel didn’t know anyone that understood him and read him like Michael and very few people thought of him how Michael did, so he knew that at the end of it all, they would both still be fine. Daniel refused to think of the alternative._

_He walked into the kitchen and saw Michael standing in front of the stove with his back to Daniel, just in his shorts and an apron. Daniel adored the folded tea towel that was hanging over his bare shoulder. Daniel walked up to him, his feet shuffling against the floor. He placed his head in the space between Michael’s shoulders, sighing as his eyes closed. He felt the muscles in Michael’s back twitch just a little as he turned to look at Daniel before turning back._

_“Didn’t you just wake up?” Daniel could hear the smile in his voice._

_“Hmm,” Daniel managed to get out._

_“I had no idea you were this clingy.” Michael said, as Daniel let his full weight rest against Michael._

_“You’re way too loud. I should just throw you out.”_

_“Fat chance. I’m not the one calling myself a ‘cuddly bear’ when I sleep.”_ _  
_

_Daniel cracked open one eye now, suddenly more alert. “What are you on about?”_

_Michael left him next to the stove as he went to grab two plates and some cutlery. Daniel thought he looked beautiful in the morning light, his hair looking more brown than black, the checkered grandma apron looking disturbingly good on his six foot tall b— trainer._

_“You said that last night when we were falling asleep.” Michael was grinning from ear to ear, but there was a softness to his eyes, like he didn’t mind it at all._

_“That’s what you are, though. Did I lie?” Daniel went to sit at the table, nose in the air as he poured them coffee and proceeded to answer his own question. “No.”_

_Michael laughed and It felt like it bubbled from deep within his chest. Daniel wanted to listen to it for forever._

_“Our friends are coming next week. You ready to host again?” Michael spoke, taking a bite of his omelet._

_The cases in Australia had finally shrunk, allowing them to meet some family and friends. It definitely felt weird, the thought of socialising again after three months in isolation when the only people he had seen were his parents and sister. But Michael would be with him so Daniel guessed it would be fine._

_“I’m gonna make Scotty gonna wish he never started the challenges.” Daniel grinned._




_When their friends arrived, Daniel realised just how much he had missed them. The house was suddenly teeming with people from being a quiet place for two to feeling like a dorm._

_Every day brought something new and different. There were more people to play basketball with, and barbecues started feeling more like how they used to. Corey brought his photography gear and shot them in different settings every day. Their morning cardio became crazier and crazier as the week went by and Daniel was loving life._

_He caught Michael watching him more than once, and Michael would always smirk at him, like he knew he had been caught in the act, unashamed, before shouting at Dan to ‘watch the form’ and ‘don’t get sloppy now’._

_It’s as if the fact that they suddenly couldn’t touch each other around the house made their verbal sparring worse. Their friends laughed it off as them being cooped together for too long and Michael and Daniel just nodded along._

_Daniel remembered one particularly frustrating day when they drove down to a beach on the outskirts of the city when the end of summer loomed large. Michael looked so handsome in the sun, the sand and water around them making the perfect setting. Daniel struggled to concentrate on their volleyball game, when Michael was standing across the net from him. It earned him more than a few profanities thrown in his direction by his team who couldn’t figure out why their competitive friend was suddenly this bad._

_Michael handed Daniel a drink after the game. Their hands touched and they stood like that for an unnaturally long time. When Michael’s name got called and he had to turn away, Daniel all but crushed the tin in his hand._

_Daniel heard a knock on his door after everyone had turned in, for the night. He hadn’t expected Michael to do it but Daniel had been thinking of sneaking into Michael’s room himself._

_“Oh my god, I’ve missed this.” Daniel all but ran to Michael, his hands resting against the sides of Michael’s neck like they belonged there._

_Michael kissed him like a starved man getting his first meal, starting strong and hungry and slowing down eventually to savour the taste. Daniel couldn’t get enough of his body, slipping his hands under Michael’s sweatshirt to touch skin and taut. Daniel wished he could commit to memory the way Michael’s breath changed with Daniel’s hand movement and he tried to swallow every sound Michael made as they fell back on the bed together._

_The birds were chirping outside his window and Daniel lay in bed, Michael next to him as they stared up at the ceiling. Daniel’s body felt sated, the only nerves firing up were along the skin Michael was drawing patterns on with his fingers._

_“Do you think everyone’s still asleep?” Michael asked him._

_Daniel tried to concentrate and hear if there was any movement on their floor._

_“Nah, I don’t think so,” Daniel finally answered, still focused on Michael's fingers tracing the tattoo on his thigh._

_“I should probably go, then,” Michael said._

_Daniel didn’t want to speak, but he forced the words out anyway. “You should.”_

_Michael placed a small kiss on his shoulder and left the bed, walking away. Daniel missed him instantly, missed the fingers that had been tracing along his skin, missed the warmth Michael brought to his chest and it scared him. It scared him because he hadn’t felt like this in years._

_Daniel didn’t know what to do after that. He couldn’t stop sneaking around with Michael, stolen moments when no one was looking, kissing when no one was around and ending up in each other’s beds when the house fell silent for the night. But his head was a mess._

_Daniel hated how he had started reading too much into the smallest of things. The way Michael constantly changed their routines because he knew how easily Daniel got bored, the care he took taping Daniel up before a boxing session, and the way he silently handed Daniel a tube of sunscreen on their way out because he knew Daniel never remembered. Only Michael noticed when he struggled to get up on the buggy car, helping him up so subtly no one else noticed._

_Michael sat outside with him one day after dinner. The air had turned colder with the arrival of the Australian winter. It was dark outside, and the sky overhead was overcast. Daniel could still see one bright star standing proud when everything else was hidden. There was a mellow feeling in the air._

_“You know a lot about astronomy, don’t you?” Daniel asked Michael._

_“Yeah?” Michael nodded, tucking his chin deeper into his hoodie, his thigh pressing ever closer to Daniel._

_“What can you tell me about that star?” Daniel just wanted to hear him speak._

_Michael looked up to where Daniel was pointing, a look of understanding crossing his face before he started speaking on the subject._

_Daniel watched him, animated as he started explaining. “That’s Sirius. The brightest star in our sky. The Egyptians used it to mark when the Nile would flood and in turn bring the land's fertility but the Greeks thought it drove their people mad when it was high in the sky during the hot weather. And when it disappeared, it signified the ‘dog days’. Oh, and the Maori marked it as the start of winter. Their navigators used it because of how bright it shone in the sky.” Michael shrugged at the sky. “You can see it from anywhere in the world.”_

_Michael did drive him mad, but he wasn’t Daniel’s ruin. And their dog days were coming, but– Daniel shook his head clear._

_“Guess they knew a lot, huh?” Daniel said._

_“Dan?” Michael must have picked up on his mood. “Is everything okay?”_

_“Michael,” he swallowed hard, “they’re saying the F1 season might restart in July.”_

_“Oh really? That sounds good.” Michael sounded surprised. “Wonder how they’ll manage it though?”_

_Daniel explained what Cyril had told him on the phone call earlier._

_“I know you’ve been missing the car a lot,” Michael said, knocking into his shoulder lightly. “We’ve done more mountain biking and buggy racing than I care for.”_

_That made Daniel smile, that Michael took it well. It meant that he had made the right call. If he thought he heard a hint of sadness in Michael’s voice, then Daniel chalked it up to his own imagination._

_“This thing with us… It– It’s. You know,” Daniel cleared his throat. “I think we should take a step back.”_

_“Oh,” Michael said, nodding his head. “Yeah, of course. We’ll just.”_

_He seemed just as flustered as Daniel without having said more than three words._

_“Yeah. Just back to normal then, I guess.” Daniel didn’t know if that would work, but. “Friend and trainer.”_

_“Mhm. Friend and trainer. For sure.” Michael nodded some more, one too many times._

_They sat there for a little while longer watching the clouds move in the sky, occasionally hiding the bright star, but it was always there. Ever present. The small space between them was burning with so many questions and so many unsaid words that Daniel wanted to blow away in one long exhale but it sat in his throat, lumped in with the array of emotions that he didn’t know what to make of._

_Michael patted him on the shoulder awkwardly before taking his leave for the night, disappearing into the house behind him. Something in Daniel’s chest felt tethered all of a sudden, pulling him in the direction Michael had gone._

_Daniel stayed alone outside, looking up at the star Michael had described to him from time to time._

  
  


\-----

  
  


They were sitting on the steps of the deck now. The sun had fully gone down, and they had both been quiet as they dried off and Daniel dressed in the change of clothes he had brought down while Michael put on his old clothes back on.

“Dan, I’ll do this year with you and I think you should take someone else on at the end of it.”

“What? Why?” Daniel’s blood ran cold. “Why are you leaving?”

“Your trainer is supposed to help you and relax you. I don’t know how I can manage that when we’re… like this.”

“I don’t want anyone else, Michael.” He grabbed at Michael’s hand. Daniel thanked the heavens when Michael didn’t shrug him off.

“You’ll get used to them.”

“No, I fucking won’t. This is not just about being my trainer. During quarantine, during a fucking pandemic, Michael,” Daniel emphasised by applying pressure on Michael’s hand between his own two. “The world was burning around us and all I could think about was you and me and _us._ Together. That’s fucking it.” Daniel felt his eyes sting. “I’m so selfish and I know I made it all about me when I got scared and backed off from it without giving you a chance either, but. I’m asking you for a chance now. You make me so much better. 

“All of my better days, they’re with you. And every time I see something, I want to experience it with you.” Daniel felt as if his seams were coming apart as he spilled his soul out. “I know I wouldn’t have survived the past three years without your strength to lean on.”

“Dan.” Michael’s voice cracked on the single word.

Michael was swallowing hard, and Daniel saw the tears that slipped down his cheek now.

He wiped his clear, with the sleeve of his shirt, shaking his head. “Look, if it makes you stay, I won’t ever bring it up again. If that’s why you want to leave, I promise this is the last we will speak of this and – ” Daniel felt desperate. He would live his life knowing the man he was falling hard for was so close and yet so far but. The thought of Michael leaving was worse. He would rather burn in the flames like a moth than not have him in his life at all. “Just don’t go.”

“No, stop.” Michael reached out as if he couldn’t stop himself, gripping Daniel’s wrist in his hand and gently pulling it down before he smoothed his thumb gently over Daniel’s cheek, over and over. “It’s okay. It’s fine.”

Michael pried his arms apart and took Daniel into his own arms, smoothing a hand down his back. Daniel didn’t understand why he couldn’t stop crying but Michael was shushing him and trying to placate him. 

“You’re here with me. Just breathe,” Michael whispered, inhaling deeply and exhaling. It came so naturally to Daniel to just follow his lead, he didn’t even realise as his own breathing followed the same rhythm. It took awhile until he was completely calm. “That’s it. We’ll figure it out.”

“I’m sorry.” Daniel spoke into Michael’s shoulder. “For putting us in this mess.”

“I felt more alive in this ‘mess’ than I have in a long time,” Michael said, pulling back so they could face each other. “And you didn’t put us in it all on your own. We managed that together.”

Michael smiled at him and it was so earnest, and so open. Daniel returned it with a small one of his own.

“I guess.”

“I have a confession to make. That first night, I told you I’d thought about kissing a boy but I didn’t mean just any boy. I’d only ever thought about kissing you.” Michael shrugged as he added the next words. “Guess you’re my type.”

Daniel’s didn’t know what to make of that but wanted to just be in Michael’s arms again. “Can I hug you?” 

“You don’t have to ask.” As soon as Michael said the words, Daniel melted against Michael's body, letting his warmth engulf him. Daniel wanted to stay there for a lifetime.

“I don’t want to lose you.” 

“You’re not losing me,” Michael said. “And I’m not losing you. We’ll take our time and we’ll figure it out, alright?”

“Okay.”

Daniel felt soft kisses being placed on his hair and Michael trailed down to place a kiss on his temple. Daniel looked up at him, and Michael looked so beautiful in the light. He could see the bright stars behind Michael’s shoulder and Daniel smiled. He couldn’t for the life of him tell his north star apart from his Sirius but he didn’t need to. He had one of his own right there. And finally he started to believe it.

That they would be just fine.

  
  


_\-----_

[June]

_Michael left to see his parents. Daniel had thought the days apart and Daniel having some time alone in the house would do them both good._

_He held himself back from texting Michael every small detail of his day but Daniel still sent him videos after his workouts and if he made sure he got his own best angles in the process, Daniel ignored all that it had to do with the feelings that niggled at him when he got in bed alone at night. He sent Michael photos of the sunset in his backyard and in the farm because Michael loved the changing skies and Daniel always teased him about taking pictures of it when they were together. Michael texted back saying how glad he was Daniel was picking up on his best traits, a picture of his own sunset attached._

_Daniel had thought it would do them good to be on their own for a while but he missed Michael even more than before. And if he spent the best part of their days apart in the hoodies he had shared with Michael and threw them in the wash before his return, Daniel chose not to think about it._

_The team informed them when the restart for the season was scheduled while Michael was still away, and Daniel tossed and turned in bed all night. He tried to mask his excitement at cutting short Michael’s so-called sabbatical, to come back and prepare for the first race of the season._

_Daniel manned the grill the day Michael returned and he smiled all night and laughed a little too loud even by Daniel’s standards. Daniel realised just how much he needed Michael in his life, in any capacity Michael wanted._

_And Michael. He seemed different too. He did everything they did normally but there was a somber look in his eyes, unlike the one he got when they were working. And when he thought Daniel wasn’t watching, it felt as if he let his shoulders drop. Daniel wanted to say something, ask Michael to say something too but. There was a thin veil that sat between them now, allowing them to keep up their pretence and ensuring they could still be a functional unit._

_And when Michael said ‘Let’s focus on racing again,’ Daniel couldn’t help but shrink back._




_They flew out to Austria a good two weeks in advance. Daniel had experienced enough cotton swabs being shoved up his nose to never want to see another one in his lifetime, but they had to do this. All season long._

_“Not if you keep in your bubble, it won’t be an issue,” Michael said._

_“I’m allowed to whine about it a little bit,” Daniel replied._

_“Mhm.”_

_Daniel was handed a keycard to his room as Michael received his own. They went to their rooms, a wave exchanged between the pair. They were to stay put at the hotel until the first race and work with the team, after which Daniel was told they could go to their cabin in the mountains._

_He took a quick shower and made his way back down to one of the conference rooms where his team was already set up. This was the first time he was going to see his side of the garage after the quarantine and the announcement of his move. All the nerves in his gut that had been quietly stirring on the flight over were twisting into knots._

_Michael was sitting in one of the chairs as well, ready with his little notebook in hand. He spotted Daniel and smiled and Daniel just. He felt his fears melting away. It was so instant and so complete, Daniel chose to focus on it and just go with the flow._

_He smiled back and fell into the chair next to Michael._

_“You ready, honeybadger?” Michael whispered at him._

_With Michael next to him? Daniel thought he would be just fine._




_Daniel heard a knock on his door. They had been shut inside the hotel for the past week and he wasn’t expecting anyone, but he opened the door anyway._

_Michael was standing in front of his door, holding a small cake with an unlit candle in the center._

_“Happy birthday!” Michael said, stepping into his room and walking towards the coffee table. “I know it’s not until a few hours and I know it’s no St. Tropez with the boys,” He settled the cake on the table and stood up. “But here it is.”_

_Daniel didn’t know what to say but. He knew he didn’t care if it wasn’t twelve am and he didn’t care that it wasn’t St. Tropez. It was better than all of them._

_“I love it.”_

_Michael lit the candles as Daniel sat on the armchair. He blew out the candles and made a wish._

_“Don’t have too much of that, you’ll be restless and you need your sleep for tomorrow. We’ll do something else for dinner tomorrow.”_

_Daniel laughed. Here this man was, giving him a cake near midnight so he didn’t feel like his birthday wasn’t celebrated this year because of their situation and telling him to take care of his diet in the same breath._

_“Dickhead.” Daniel said it in jest._

_“No one bigger than you.”_

_Daniel went to bed that night fighting a losing battle against his own emotions._

  
  


_\----_

  
  


Daniel felt giddy and light with the camera trained on him. He was sitting in the bathtub once again trying to film an intro for the video if only he could hold it together for long enough. Michael was sitting behind the camera guy smiling and looking so wholesome, and all Daniel could think of was the promise of something new and something different that they had made in this spot.

Michael mimed at him to get on with it and it made Daniel’s grin grow wider. They had been at this for a while now. Daniel gave it one last go.

“You’re just gonna have to work with that mate,” Daniel said apologetically at the cameraman.

“Don’t worry. I’ve got it I think.” he got up and walked back into the house.

“What was that?” Michael asked, moving to sit down where the cinematographer had been minutes ago.

Daniel shrugged. “I don’t know, that guy was just really hot and turning me on.”

“Oh, he was, was he?” Michael’s brows raised as he nodded along.

“Mhm.” Daniel tried to keep a straight face and failed terribly. 

Michael leaned closer, giving him a soft kiss.“We can get him back for you if you want. Didn’t know you were into geriatrics,”He murmured.

“Why do you think I slept with you?” Daniel kissed him this time as Michael chuckled.

“I’m younger than you,” Michael backed up a little.

“Sure you are, big man.” Daniel pulled him back, catching Michael’s lower lip between his teeth.

They had decided to continue with their relationship and become exclusive. They still had a year to assess if being partners whilst working together professionally worked and Michael would base his decision on that, but it wouldn’t affect their relationship. ‘Lovers on the side’, as Daniel had put it so eloquently.

Daniel was falling so hard and so fast but. He didn’t mind one little bit as long as Michael was there to catch him.

\----

**Author's Note:**

> Leave a comment if you liked it please x


End file.
